A group of five skiers was hit by the avalanche above the village of Trasquera in the Piedmont region. Two survived and were helicoptered to hospital.
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The avalanche broke away around 12.30pm on the eastern face of Punta Valgrande, a summit in the Leopontine Alps, on the border between Italy and Switzerland.
The skiers who died were dragged down the snowy mountain for several hundred metres from where they had been skiing at over 2,800 metres. The bodies have not yet been recovered because they are awaiting authorisation from the local magistrate.
An alert had been issued in the area above 2,100 metres, which warned of "considerable danger of avalanches." The alert was at level 3, with 5 being the most dangerous.
It is not yet clear whether the rescuers were alerted by a skier who saw the avalanche sweeping away three people, or by the other two people who managed to save themselves. According to reports, the group was going uphill with crampons and then descending with skis.